The present invention deals with processed food compositions, which contain an enhanced content of anti-oxidants, particularly of phenolic compounds which originate from olive oil. Such compositions fit in a healthy diet.
The incidence of cardiovascular diseases in a population is correlated with the occurrence of a high blood cholesterol content. The blood cholesterol level has been found to be decreased by a diet, which contains specific food components. For example, it is recommended to eat fats with a high content of unsaturated fatty acids. It is known further that particularly diets which contain olive oil are healthy, because olive oil consumption contributes to a good balance of HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in the blood. Recently it has been found that some minor fat components particularly the anti-oxidants, including polyphenols from fat, positively interfere with the body""s cardiovascular system, particularly because they are believed to help control oxidation of blood cholesterol. Non-refined olive oil has a high content of phenolic compounds which often are denoted as phenolics or as polyphenols.
Copending WO 99/32589 describes a practical application of said finding. The invention relates to spreads which contain olive oil as well as phenolic compounds. Traditionally for spread preparation a fully refined olive oil is employed, with the effect that together with the impurities also the beneficial phenolic compounds are removed. Said patent application describes a mild refining process which delivers a purified oil from which undesired olive oil odour and most of the free fatty acids have been removed, but which still contains a considerable amount of healthy phenolic compounds.
The phenolics derived from olive oil form a group of chemical compounds, some of which have a relatively high oil solubility, the lipophilic phenolic compounds, while others are more soluble in water, the hydrophilic phenolic compounds. When olive oil is contacted with a water phase, e.g. during a water washing step, a partioning of phenolic compounds occurs. A great part of the hydrophilic phenolic compounds easily migrate to the water phase, while the major part of the lipophilic phenolic compounds stay in the oil phase.
At least a part of the bitter taste of olive oil is ascribed to phenolic compounds, mainly to the lipophilic phenolic compounds.
In the co-pending patent applications EP 849353 and EP 933419 olive oil processes are described, which aim at debittering the oil by removing and/or hydrolysing the lipophilic phenolic compounds in olive oil. By hydrolysis the bitter lipophilic phenolic compounds are converted into less bitter and more water soluble phenolic compounds. Since these migrate to the water phase of the olive oil/water mixture, they are removed when the separated water phase is discarded.
WO 97/06697 teaches a healthy diet consisting of food products which have been fortified with high amounts of anti-oxidants, including phenolic compounds. The only phenolic compounds disclosed are catechins which are the water-soluble polyphenols originating from tea. The hydrophilic phenolic compounds used in the present invention originate from olives, they have a different chemical identity and are believed to play a different nutritional and metabolic role. The hydrophilic phenolic compounds from olives consist mainly of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol. For food fortification tea polyphenols are less attractive, because tea is an expensive source material.
Non-prepublished patent application WO 99/30724 has disclosed generally a mixture of hydrophilic polyphenols of different origin to be used in a diet which aims to protect against cardiovascular afflictions.
Although since long food compositions have been prepared with unrefined virgin olive oil, the presence in such foods of hydrophilic phenolic compounds from olives have remained long unnoticed. In the aqueous phase of food compositions hydrophilic phenolic compounds can be found, but only in relatively low amounts. When both a fat phase and an aqueous phase are present in said food composition, under the conditions under which the food is prepared and stored the content of hydrophilic phenolics might increase slightly. They are formed by hydrolysis of lipophilic phenolic compounds, particularly at the interface of oil and water phases. The level of hydrophilic-phenolics depends on the type of food.
The present invention particularly deals with salad dressings, emulsion spreads and processed tomato compositions. The salad dressings mentioned in this specification are the well known sour tasting food compositions containing a water phase of at least 20 wt. % and having a pourable or a spoonable consistency. Salad dressings often contain a dispersed fat phase, even up to about 80 wt. % (mayonnaise). When dressings are prepared with much virgin, unrefined olive oil, they contain relatively much water soluble olive oil phenolic compounds. However, the content of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol present in water phase is always less than 100 ppm.
The water and oil emulsion spreads are food products which have a plastic consistency and often consist of a W/O-emulsion containing dispersed fat even up to 80 wt. %. The processed tomato products include sauces, like ketchup, which contain no or only a small amount of dispersed fat. For spreads and processed tomato products unrefined olive oil is a rare and minor ingredient. Up to now the content of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol in the water phase of these products has never surpassed 15 ppm.
The present invention is based on the finding that hydrophilic phenolic compounds which originate from olive oil are a useful food ingredient, because they have a nutritional functionality which is comparable with and supplementary to the functionality of the lipophilic phenolic compounds from olive oil. The present invention comprises use of hydrophilic phenolic compounds for the preparation of a food composition with an increased nutritional value.
The food composition according to the invention comprises 20-100 wt. % of an aqueous phase which aqueous phase contains hydrophilic olive polyphenols in concentrations which, in aqueous phase, are at least 15 ppm.
The hydrophilic olive polyphenols are tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol and the food composition preferably is a processed food composition chosen from the group consisting of water and oil emulsion spreads, processed tomato products and salad dressings, the concentration of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol taken together in aqueous phase is at least 100 ppm for salad dressings and at least 15 ppm for water and oil emulsion spreads and for processed tomato products.
Food compositions according to the invention can be prepared by the steps of selecting the usual ingredients and processing these in the usual way, with the proviso that at least one of the ingredients must consist of or contain tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol in such concentration that in the final composition the concentration of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol taken together has a value as specified above.
In olive oil derived food compositions often hydrophilic phenolic compounds are present. Tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol are the major representatives. After an aqueous phase has exchanged polyphenols with unrefined olive oil, at least one and mostly both of these two polyphenols are present. Hydrophilic olive derived phenolic compounds are present as such in the olive fruit. They may be formed also after processing of the olive fruits by hydrolysis of lipophilic phenolic compounds such as oleuropein and aglycon.
For the preparation of the invented food compositions hydrophilic phenolic compounds are used suitably in the form of a ready aqueous solution. A suitable and easily available water phase which contains an high level of hydrophilic phenolic compounds is the aqueous phase resulting from separating an O/W-emulsion that comprises an oil consisting wholly or partially of unrefined olive oil and water.
Such water phase is e.g. the aqueous liquid which remains after debittering olive oil by hydrolysis of its bitter ingredients according to the inventions referred to earlier in this specification. Before the invention found an application for those liquids, they were of no use and were discarded as waste.
Another aqueous phase containing hydrophilic phenolic compounds results from the common production process of olive oil. The aqueous phase collected after the steps of malaxation of olive fruits and subsequent olive oil separation was also considered waste material, but it has appeared to be a rich source of phenolic compounds. These can be harvested from the waste water or the water can be used as such, if necessary after purification.
A feasible and efficient alternative for the above aqueous phases is adding tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol as such, particularly as a more or less purified isolate, e.g. in the form of a dry preparation, such as a powder whether or not in admixture with other hydrophilic phenolic compounds.
The invention also comprises a process in which the aqueous phase does not contain either tyrosol or hydroxytyrosol as such, but a precursor such as aglycon from which tyrosol or hydroxytyrosol is formed spontaneously by hydrolysis during food preparation or shortly thereafter.
Water and oil emulsion spreads which contain olive oil are known. These contain either unrefined or partially refined olive oil. The aqueous phase of such spreads contains a small amount, but less than 10 ppm of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol, resulting from migration by diffusion from the fat phase into the aqueous phase.
For the manufacture of a spread according to the invention any usual spread manufacturing technology can be used. Preferably, the tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol are dissolved in the aqueous phase or an aqueous phase is used which contains those phenolics and, optionally, other phenolics. Any fat phase usual for spread preparation may be employed.
A particular embodiment provides xe2x80x9cin-situxe2x80x9d fortification of the aqueous phase with tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol. The process consists of choosing a non-refined olive oil, optionally mixing it with a margarine fat and emulsifying the fat phase with an aqueous phase with the relatively high pH value of 5.5 or more. Under these conditions hydrolysis of lipophilic olive phenolics occurs at the interphase of fat phase and aqueous phase. The crude emulsion is exposed to the hydrolyzing conditions for such time that a desired amount of hydrophilic phenolic compounds are formed. The process can be stopped, e.g. by lowering the pH to 4.5-5 which is a common value for the aqueous phase of spreads. Subsequently, any remaining spread ingredients are added to the crude pre-emulsion. It is subjected to regular spread processing and a product is obtained with an enhanced content of tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol in the aqueous phase.
When in an emulsion product like spread after manufacture the hydrolysing conditions at the fat and water interface continue to exist and the fat phase still contains unhydrolized phenolics, the fortification of the water phase with hydrolized phenolic compounds originating from the fat phase may proceed even during storage of the product.
Both lipophilic and hydrophilic phenolic compounds are useful food supplements, but never attention was given to a proper balance of both in food products. The present invention enables the beneficial increase of the ratio of hydrophilic phenolic compounds and lipophilic phenolic compounds. It is the merit of the present invention that it provides the specific, above-mentioned food compositions which contain enhanced levels of the potent hydrophilic phenolic compounds tyrosol and hydroxytyrosol.